Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata has claimed a first: the deployment of the world’s first commercial virtual base station controller (vBSC) with Ericsson.

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) says it has approved 66.2 billion baht (US$1.96 billion) worth of investments for new data centre projects in Chonburi Province backed by Google and China’s GDS.

Mastercard announced on Tuesday it has launched Mastercard Pay Local, a new global service that enables digital wallet users in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa to pay locally when they travel.

Saudi Arabian telco Mobily and Telecom Egypt announced on Monday that they have signed a cooperation deal to land the first subsea cable directly linking Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

While Nigerian plans to open up the market to many new MVNOs are not necessarily guaranteed success, they have certainly been good for Wireless Technology Labs (WTL), which recently announced that it had been chosen by MobileCoreX Ltd (MCX), a Nigerian mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), to spearhead the development of the country’s first mobile virtual network.

State-owned operator Ethio Telecom has officially expanded its commercial 5G network in southern Ethiopia, as the operator continues to deploy fifth-generation technology.

Recently in the news for a strategic partnership with Jaza Energy to deploy solar-powered hubs at 250 towers in underserved communities across Nigeria, IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of the IHS Towers group, has now made headlines with another solar-related contribution: the donation of four solar-powered boreholes to support victims of recent floods in Maiduguri, Borno State.

In news that is likely to be relevant to developing world markets where coverage of remote areas remains a problem, iPhone maker Apple has announced that it will invest up to US$1.5 billion in Globalstar, a provider of satellite and terrestrial connectivity services, to fund the expansion of its iPhone communication services.

Vodafone Group announced that its Romanian unit and rival Digi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) to acquire its subsidiary, Telekom Romania Mobile Communications (TKRM). This move would reduce the number of market players in Romania to three.

As the digital landscape evolves, ZTE Corporation, a global leader in information and communication technology solutions, reaffirms its leadership with the launch of its latest G6 server series at annual 5G Summit & User Congress 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Global digital operator Veon said on Friday that its unit Beeline Uzbekistan has developed and launched an AI-powered super app called Hambi for all mobile users in the country.  

Governments in Mozambique and Mauritius have reportedly shut down access to social media and messaging sites, as Mozambique deals with election protests while Mauritius is trying to control the fallout of an alleged wiretapping scandal.

Malaysian operator U Mobile has won the rights to implement Malaysia’s second 5G network to compete with original 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), leaving rival contenders CelcomDigi and Maxis to rethink their 5G plans.

Croatian operator Hrvatski Telekom (HT) has partnered with Nokia to launch projects aimed at connecting developers to Nokia’s coding platform to foster the creation of new consumer and industrial 5G applications.

El Salvador aims to enhance its digital government services with the help of a $60 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which partners with the public sector in the Latin America and Caribbean region to design and provide innovative, high-impact solutions for sustainable and inclusive development.

UAE-headquartered telecom and digital services provider du has this week announced two major deals: one, with tech giant Ericsson, relating to 5G network expansion and another, with strategy and consulting company Accenture, linked to IT application development and maintenance.

The Day One Keynote session at MBBF 2024 emphasised that we are entering a new era of AI facilitated by the expansion of 5.5G. With 5.5G expanding the boundaries of connections, AI allows them to connect intelligently.

Nokia has announced that Vietnam’s largest service provider, Viettel, will use its optical transport solution to cost-effectively address growing demand for 5G and data centre interconnect (DCI), consumer data consumption, and cross-border connectivity.

Brazilian neutral network and digital infrastructure company V.tal, recently in the news thanks to its interest in troubled operator Oi Brasil’s fibre broadband base, is now making headlines through an indoor 5G deal for Brazilian shopping centres.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) Philippines said on Thursday that the first phase of operations for its upcoming STT Fairview 1 hyperscale data centre is on track to be ready for service by the second quarter of 2025.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said on Wednesday that it has invested UAH1.9 billion (US$46 million) over the last two years to upgrade backup-power facilities for its network, the second phase of which is now underway.

Malaysia’s Hexa Capital Consultancy said on Wednesday it has chosen Globe Telecom to serve as the landing party in the Philippines for its trans-Pacific Malaysia-US (MYUS) Cable System.

Network International, an enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and global digital payment and financial technology provider Ant International, have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the extension of innovative digital payment solutions to businesses in the MEA.

The Communications, Space, and Technology Commission (CST), the Saudi Arabian communications authority established to regulate, monitor and empower the communications and IT sector, has granted a licence to provide specialised wireless telecommunication services to Aramco Digital.

Millicom International Cellular, a provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced a tower sale agreement with SBA Communications Corporation (SBA), an independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure.

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata says it has added a café to its metaverse platform “Futureverse” via a collaboration agreement with Sri Lanka’s largest café chain Barista.

Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (NTRA) said it has signed an agreement with the government’s Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) to create a joint digital platform designed to resolve complaints about telecom services more quickly.

Brazil-based digital bank platform Nubank announced plans on Tuesday to join Brazil's increasingly crowded mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) space in a bid to expand its portfolio beyond financial services.

Global communications solutions provider iBasis said on Tuesday it has signed an deal with Peruvian mobile operator Claro Perú to implement its A2P messaging gateway solution.

Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines have signed on for Airbus HBCplus Ka-band satellite-supported broadband in-flight connectivity.

OMS Group, a Malaysian subsea digital infrastructure company, has signed a contract with Dutch maritime firm Royal IHC for the construction of a series of cable-laying vessels. OMS is backed by KKR, a global investment firm investing across private markets in every asset class all over the world.

A flurry of deals and agreements underlines the continuing competition for a piece of the still-growing digital payment market in Africa. Some of the big names in the frame in two of the most recent announcements are Standard Bank, Volante Technologies, Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) and Mastercard.